A Maltese investigative journalist who exposed the island nation's links to offshore tax havens through the leaked Panama Papers was killed Monday when a bomb exploded in her car, the prime minister said.

A Maltese investigative journalist who exposed the island nation's links to offshore tax havens through the leaked Panama Papers was killed Monday when a bomb exploded in her car, the prime minister said.

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China strikes animation film deals with WA

He has been called "the Walt Disney of China", and now entrepreneur Kerr Xu is bringing business to Western Australia's animation industry.

WA's Vue Group and ZAC Films have struck deals to work with Mr Kerr's studio, the Shanghai Hippo Animation Design Company, on several film projects.

Hippo also plans to launch a WA/China Film Fund to co-finance films from development through to production, starting at $10 million with a target of $50 million.

Mr Kerr said the two agreements were a great start for future collaborations.

"We might also look into some other potential live action and animation combined together," he said.

Animation comprises 10 per cent of China's total box office take, but is expected to reach 25 per cent in the next few years, while the total box office in China for all film is also expected to bypass the US.

Mr Kerr said a major portion of that could be from China/Australia collaborations.

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"We are two hungry animals and we can combine our film-making forces together and look into international territory, and it might change the industry completely," he said.

Hippo has grown from five people in 2003 to the largest animation studio in China, producing about five feature-length animation films a year.

While Mr Kerr has kept a low profile as he expands his business, he admits he cannot hide anymore and is now embracing the title of China's Walt Disney.

"I'm going to just enjoy it and I'll make it really happen," he said.

Mr Kerr, who is also involved in property and is interested in buying WA land, said the state would "probably not" get a theme park any time soon, but theme parks and merchandising could come later.

"(In) those two areas, we can still play low profiles, but you might get surprised one day," he chuckled.

Up to 50 Australian creative animators will be employed at the Vue Group offices in Bunbury, south of Perth, which will have an open-ended deal with Hippo.

All films will be in English with Chinese sub-titles and the total production budget for the first three will exceed $57 million.

Vue Group managing director Alan Lindsay said production would begin next month.

Perth-based ZAC Films will co-produce at least three films with Hippo between 2014 and 2016, with the total production budget exceeding $30 million and at least 20 per cent of the production in Australia.

The two deals come less than two months after local producer Stephen Van Mil announced ambitious plans to develop Perth's first film studio.

His production company, Impian Films, has teamed up with British firm Extraordinary Group to build the studio by 2016, at an estimated cost of $50 million.

The facility will include three sound stages, a water tank, a production hub and a 260-room hotel with restaurants, bars, a cinema, nightclub and gymnasium.